Combined washing-machine and drier.



A l 'PATBN-TED MAY'24,1904. C. P. `SGHMIDT & C..V KLEINIQIECHT.

COMBINED WASHING MACHINE-AND DRIBR.

APPLIOATIONTILED 00T.12, 1903.

H0 MODEL.

Ill

ATTORNEY. l

` :UNITED *STATES Patented May 24, 1904.

I'PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES E. SCHMIETAND CHARLES KLEINKNECHLLOE PHILADELPHIA,

' PEIIIISYLVAIIIA. i I

COMBINED WASHING-MACHINE AND DRIER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of 'Letters Patent No. 760,648,- dated May24, 1904. i

' Application Hed october 12,1903. serai N0.'176,783. `(No motel.)

To all whom, #may concern:

l Be it kno-wn that We, CHARLES F. SCHMIIST, 4asubject of the 'Emperorof Germany, havingv 'resided inthe UnitedStates' over two years last'pastiand declared my'intention'of A'becoming a citizen thereof,v andCHARLES KLEIN' KNECHT, a'citizen ofthe United States, both residi'nginthe city of Philadelphia, in the county j "of Philadelphia and 'State ofPennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in aCombined Washing-Machine' and Q 'Drier, of which the following is aspecification. g This invention is `an improvement in ma-` chinesforwashing and drying clothing and' similar articles made of textilefabricsan'd especially in that class of machinesrepresented by ourformer patent, No. 7 07,867 datedv August 26, 1902; and the presentinvention co n" wsists in certain novel construction and combinations'of parts, as will 'behereinafter' described and claimed.

In the drawingsrFignre 1 represents a plan kview of the machine partlyin section; Figf2, 'a side elevation and partial horizontal Section;Fig. 3, a view'of the cam mechanism'and part k of lthe clutch. Fig.'4shows' the combined clutch andl gear sleeve, and Fig. 5 a View in frontelevation ofthe treadle and catch.

1 designates a cylindrical Lcasing having .at

its lower end a tight-fittingor integral head 2,

resting upon the legs AAt its upper end is 'a cover a part of which, 4,i's secured to the walls of the casing and the remainder, 5, hinged tothe fixed part in ysuch manner that the interior may be accessible. On'the fixed cover are bearing-brackets 7 and8, carryinga shaft '9, whichhas at its outer end the driving-pulley 10 and a fly-wheel 11'. Insidethe bracket 7 is `a sleeve 12, keyed to turn with the shaft,

but free to move lengthwise thereon. Integral with the sleeve are two'gears`13and 14,

of different diameters, and a clutch -15 for movving the sleeve on theshaft.- A lever 16, having'a yoke 17 operatively'connected to the sleeve12,1isf'ulcrumed` at 18. Beyond'the bracket 8 on the same shaft issecured a cam 19and adjacent to it a miter-gear 20,' whichv meshes withits mate, 21, which is secured'on a shaft 22, placed at the same height,but at and at a short distance above it.

right angles to the shaft 9 and which has the `*bearing 23 at one end.vA sleeve 25 runs freely on this shaft, having on it the spur-gear 26 andthe friction-clutch 27. 28'is the other fitted to revolve in bearing 24and contains the opposite end of shaft 22, adapted toy revolvev freelywith it.

The end of'theclutch.- shank` 28 extends i i ment with it is the shortlever 29, fulcrurned -ISlightlY Oe-nd bh bearing 24, and' in aline- "6'on a shaft 30, maintained in the portion'of' the bracket 24 at rightangles to' the shaft 22 end of the shaft 30 is 'secured the lever 31,carrying an adjustable roll 32 'and 'at its extreme end a helical spring33', adapted `to pull. -thelever downward, which' action keeps the`.roll 32 against the: periphery of the cam.19.

It is obvious that if the lever 31 be raised by the cam or otherwise itwill cause the short lever 29 to impinge 'upon the extending'end g 'ofthe clutch,member.28, cause it to slide for-f ward'- into closec'ontactwith the other mem- On the other ber, 27, and, if the machine berunning, will transmit motion lto the spur'- gear 26. This action` willbe' lmaintained until the' lever 31 is lowered by being drawn down bythe spring 33`as'thel roll works onthe small radius 'of the cam19,'which may be so proportionedas` i i to give vany desired amount ofrevolution to the gear 26. I

"134 is avl bracket having guideways'for the "vertical slide 35,'which'has teethfcut in its" front edge to engage with the spur gear26.It is provided -with a boss on one-side for the clamping-screw 36, usedto" hold the sliding rack up 'out of engagement with the gear whende'sirable.`

37 is a catch "on the top of the guideway, adapted to hold the'hingedcover 5 open when desired. v ,l

The lower end o'f the rack-slide 35 extends through an opening in thecasing-cover 5 and has attached toit'a circular beater 38, having ahinged leaf`39, a sliding bolt 40, and a pin 41 for fastening the bolt,so that the hinged part 39 shall not open when properly secured. Thebottom side 0f 38 and 39 are corrugated,

Y be in engagement atthe same time;

and the whole is of considerable weight, so that these parts will acteffectively as beaters.

From the foregoing it is evident that the instant that the clutchmembers 27 and 28 are separated the weight of the slide and its attachedparts will cause the gear 26 and its sleeve to revolve freely until thedownward motion of the slide is arrested. It is also evident that atwhatever point it may stop the gear will pick it up upon application ofthe lever and carry it a predetermined amount vertically withoutreference to its initial position. Hence the blow of the beater isuniform whether the machine be filled fully or partially.

Within the casing 1 is a tub 42 open at the top and in which is looselyfitted the beater 38. This tub has corrugated sides to assist incleaning the articles operated upon and has numerous perforations toallow for water circulation. At its bottom is a head 43, groovedunderneath for a ball-raceway 44 and which normally rests on a circle ofballs therein that in turn rest in a corresponding groove in the head 2of the casing. Head 43 has also aiXed at its center adownwardly-extending shaft 45, running through the plate 2, which formsa bearing for it, carrying the bevel-gear 46, and is further guided inthe bracket 47, which is attached to the lower side of the plate 2. Thebracket 47 also forms a bearing for a horizontal shaft 48, carrying abevel-pinion 49, meshing with 46 at'one end and, passing through thebearing 47, has a sprocket-wheel 50 at the other. This wheel isconnected by a chain 51 with a corresponding sprocketwheel 52 on theshaft 53, which runs in bearing-brackets 54 and 23. On the shaft 53 arethe fixed gears 55 and 56, adapted to mesh with the spur-gears 13 and14, respectively, by action of the lever 16. The arrangement isVsuch'that the gears 55 and 13 work together and 56 and 14; but bothpairs of gears cannot The proportion between the two pairs is such 'thatwhen 55 and 13 are in engagement a comparatively slow motion is obtainedand the tub 42 revolves slowly; but when the gears 56 and 14 are inengagement a much higher rate of speed is delivered tothe tub 42, thesaid higher speed being desirable in the operation of drying, thecentrifugal effect being to force the water outwardly through theopenings in the tub to the space between it and the casing 1, from whichit may be withdrawn by the faucet 57er other convenient means. 1npractice, however, it has been found' that while the ball-bearingbetween the heads 2 and 43 is well adapted to the slow speed of washingand to take the constantly-occurring impact of the beater 38 betterresults are obtained by raising the shaft 45, and through it the plateand tub, free of the ball-bearing and sustaining their weight on thepivot-bearing 58, which is arranged on the end of the footlever 59.

60 is a catch attached to the floor to hold thelever 59 when depressed,and consequently sustaining the weight of the tub and its contents. A

In operation, the machine being at rest. the hinged covers 5 and 39 areraised and the articles to be washed are placed within the revolvingtub, the covers secured, and water, with cleansing agents, introduced byany convenient means, as direct piping, hose, or bucket, the foot-leveris released, so that the tub rests on the balls, the speed-changinglever moved to cause engagement of the slowacting gears, the clamp-screwloosened, and the beater allowed to rest on top of the articles the tubis charged with. Upon applying power the tub revolves, causing the waterte freely circulate through the charge, and at short regular intervalsthe beater falls, causing a churning, effectually forcing the fluidsamong the articles comprising the charge and through the interstices ofthe textile fabrics of which they are made. In addition it causes thearticles to rub upon each other and against the lcorrugations of the tubsides until the cleansing operation is complete. Obviously the water maybe withdrawn at will and the machine recharged with fresh or a constantcirculation kept up without affecting these operations, so that athorough rinsing is obtained.

The operation of drying is performed without disturbing the charge andis as follows:

he machine being stopped momentarily, the beater raised to its highestpoint and there secured by the clamp-screw, the treadle or` foot-leveris depressed and held down by the floor-catch, the speed-changing levermoved so that the pair of gears used in washing are disengaged and theother pair 'put into engagement, the water-drain opened, and the machinerestarted. The high rate of speed obtainable rapidly drives out allparticles of moisture after the manner of an ordinary whizzer, and thearticles can then be removed for final airing, as is usual.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim, and desire to secureby Letters Patent, is-

1. In a combinedl washing and drying machine, the combination of arevoluble tub, a stationary easing, means for revolving said tub atdifferent rates of speed, and a beaterhead, having a uniform drop,irrespective of the quantity of charge, all substantially as shown anddescribed.

2. In a combined washing and drying machine, the combination of a tub; abeater therein, having a rack-stem; a gear intermeshing with the rack;afriction-clutch ineinber, integral with the gear; a sliding clutchmember, and means for operatively connecting the said members,consisting of a lever, a cam and roll, all substantially as shown anddescribed.

lOO

i 'femme 3. v,In aoombined Washing, and dryingmachine,V the combinationof a revolving tub, Within a stationary easing;y the bottom of said tubnormally resting upon a ballbearing; means for raising the said tub outof engageinent With the ball-bearing;- means for supporting the saidtub, When so raised, on a oentral pivot, and means of rotating said tubat diferent rates of speed independent of speed of driving-shaft, allsubstantially as shown and described.'y

4. In a combined Washing and drying machine, thek combination of arevolving tub Within a fixed casing; a perpendioularly-aot;

ing beater therein, having araok-stem; an -intermittently operated gear,'engaging With said rack-stem; means for controlling the engagementbetween said rack and gear, and

Imeans oi' controlling speed-of tub independ?

